Paekbr wineman



` @eine tatts atwt @time PARKER WINEMAN', OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

'Leners Paten: No.. 63,129, and Mai-Ch 19, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEAM-ENGINE SLIDE-VALVES.

@te Stlnhnle nfwnh tu in nnss ntrrs latcut mit mating patat tige aan.

TO ALL WHOM IT VMAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, PARKER WINEMAN, of Chicago, Cook county, State of Illinois, have invented a new and o useful Improvement in Slide-Valves; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip* tion thereof, referencebeing had to the. accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in ywhich-- Figure 1 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the centre of my improved valve.

Figure 2 is a top view of the valve and its packing. 1

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken through thepacking rings.

Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views in perspective of the packing rings.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.-

This invention .relates to an improved packing, which is designed for relieving undue downward pressure of slide-valves upon their seats. It consists in applying within a shallow cup, which is secured. to the black of a slide-valve, an uncut packingring, which is held against the inner face ofthe valve-chest back by a suitable spring` and which is adapted for vreceiving an expansiblepacking that is so constructed and applied that, by means of a spring and the pressure of steam, a tight joint will be made which will prevent the entrance of steam into thc said cupor relief chamber, as will be hereinafter described.

i To enable others skilled in the art to understand my invention, 1 will describe its construction and operation. In the accompanying drawings, A represents a slide-valve ofthe usual form and construction; and B represents a shallow cup of a circular form, which is firmly secured upon the back of the valve A. C represents a portion of the steam cylinder upon which valve B slides, and D represents the back plate of the valve-chest. Within the cup B a ring, a, is placed, which is slightly less in diameter than the inner diameter of its cup, and which has an annular groove formed in its periphery for receiving an expansible packing, as shown in figs. I and This grooved or U-shapc ring is held against the inner -facc of the valve-chest back D by means of semiL elliptic springs, b b, which keep this ring always in place, whether there be a pressure of steam in the valve chest or not. The upper face of the ring a and the inner face of the plate D are ground together so that the pressure of the springs l1 I1 acting below said ring will make a steam-tight jointbetween said faces. Within the groove or annular channel in ring a, segment packing rings, c g, are put, which are constructedwith interlocking joints, and which are held out against the inner surface of the flange of the cup B by a spring, h, so that there will be a constant pressure upon said rings whether there be a pressure of steam in the valve-chest or not. The cxpansible rings are made somewhat smaller lthan the channel in ring' a., in which they'are placed, as shown in figs. I and 3, for the purpose of allowing steam to Apass over the top of thc packing and get behind it, aslindi cated by the arrows in fig. 1, thus expanding these rings or segments and forming a steam-tight joint between their peripheries and the inner surface of the fiange ofA the Clip B- The Spring 7L is designed to keep the ringsl e g expanded when there is no pressure of steam in the valve-chest, so that when steam is allowed therein it will not escape into the relief chamber of cup B in consequence of thepaeking not being in its place. The spring L will always keep the packing in a'eondition for allowing steam to get behind it and expand it. I prefer te have the cup B formed separately and bolted upon the back of the valve, as described, so that it can be applied to any ofthe common slide-valves, but, if desirable, such cut may be formed on the valve.

I am aware that it is not new to employ expansible packing rings which are pressed against the vinner fact` of the valve-chest back by the force of steam, and which are applied in a grooved flange formed on the back of the valve, and I do not claim such as my invention. It will be seen from the above descriptior that I employ an uncut ring containing expansible packing, which ring is held up to its place and a tight joint formed by a spring placed below it. This ring is not held to its place by the force of steam, and consequently there will not be any unnecessary friction between its face and the inner face of the valve-chest back; and while this is the case steam is employed for expanding thc packing'in said ring against the inner face of the flange of the cup B and preventing the entrance of steam into this cup. Where steam is employed to press packing rings against the back of a valve-chest, as well as against the flange of a relief chamber, as in the case above-cited, it has been found that not only is there a rapid wearing away of the packingrings, caused by the excessive pressure of steam upon them, but that the pressure of steam is so great upon the edges of such rings that there will be an escape of steam through the joints. By my invention the packing rings do not press against the back of the nipplied within a cup, B, and operating substantially as described.

valve-chest, and are consequently not subject to wear. The ring which receives said steam packing conl be forced against the inner face of the valve-chest back with any required degree of presslire, according tov the strength of the springs employed, which pressure is uniform whether there be steam in the valve-chest or not.

Having described my invention, what I cla-im as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-J 1. The application of alaterally expensible packing to a ring which is applied within 'a cup B upon the back of a slide-valve, said ring b eing held against the valve-chest back by the pressure of a spring alone, while the packing is expanded by thepressure of steam, substantially as described. i

2. The detachable ring a', grooved on its circumference and fitted with expansible packing, in `combination with the cup B, for the purpose of packing a slide-valve,substantially as herein set forth.

3. The combination of the anged ring a' and its springb with the expansible packing and its spring h,

PARKER WINEMAN.

Witnesses:

CEAS. A. PEANY, E. N. CRANDALL. 

